


The Right Words

by Tsukiko Hoshino (Ophiras)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Labyrinth Fusion, Day: 10, Don't kick Deidara, F/M, FREESPACE IS BEST SPACE, Sai gets caught in the crossfire, Sakura is having cold feet, SasoSaku Month 2020, Sasori The Sorcerer King, They've met before
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27501274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ophiras/pseuds/Tsukiko%20Hoshino
Summary: Sakura would say she was totally not at fault for what happened, after all how was she supposed to know wishes had consequences?
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Sasori, InoSai in the background
Comments: 10
Kudos: 61





	The Right Words

Sakura would say that all her troubles began with a perfectly unassuming book. Bound in worn, red leather, she’d had it for as long as she could remember, It’d been read so many times the title had practically been worn right off the cover. Where it had come from, she could not quite recall. ‘A boy.’ She thought sometimes, the gleam of copper eyes flashing through her mind, gone as quick as they came. ‘Or an old woman?’ She would think and the sound of a witch’s cackle would call from the depths of memory, unplaced.   
  
For a book that had been in her possession ever since she was just a little girl, each time Sakura read it, it always seemed _new_ to her. More detailed and profound than the time before, the characters--though unnamed were familiar and well beloved. The outwardly apathetic and equally arrogant young king with his tricky, sly old grandmother, the cousins and the annoying retainer all seemed so real to her. So she kept the childhood remnant even as the years passed and her milk teeth fell out, as her toys were packed up or given away, as the posters on her wall went from Lisa Frank rainbow cats and unicorns to boy bands before they too at last gave way to anatomical charts and the periodic table.  
  
It went with her through early graduation, university and her residency. Now _,_ at the age of 26 Sakura was standing there debating on whether she would take it with her to the next phase of life; marriage. ‘It’s childish.’ She thought, watching as Sai flipped another page, dark eyes roving the words she could never manage to memorize. “You’re supposed to be helping me go through my stuff,” she pouted, hands hitching to her hips. “Not pawing through _my_ book.” _Possessive_. That's how she felt about it, like it was meant for her eyes alone.  
  
“It’s a mistake.” Sai said, not for the first time and flipped a page. He paid no mind to the thunder as it rolled over head ominously. 'If only I could wish Sasuke away…’ He certainly wouldn’t go running a labyrinth for the man. ‘They can keep him.’ He’d make a suitably ugly puppet.  
  
‘Like that damn raven and it’s nevermore.’ Sakura thought, narrowing her eyes. “Sai…” She hissed in warning. “The wedding is a week from now.” And she was practically hanging by a thread as far as stress management went. She’d done all the planning, completely rearranged what she’d originally envisioned. _My parents won’t approve of a Christian ceremony, it has to be Shinto,_ Sasuke had said _._ So out went the hand embroidered veil that had been passed from one woman in her mother's line to the next along with a box of a thousand clippings she’d accumulated through her lifetime, dreaming of the day she finally walked down the aisle.  
  
’It’s fine.’ Sakura soothed herself. ‘The venue, the dress...the flowers and the ceremony don’t matter. You’re finally going to marry the man of your dreams.’ No sacrifice was too great, even if every single one was at her expense. ‘That's not true...at least there will be a wedding reception.’   
  
_“Sasuke-kun, what do you think of these taffeta table skirts? I was thinking white or red, or maybe blue?”_ But blue, in her opinion, clashed with her colors.  
 _“Whichever.”_ _  
_She had to assume he wanted blue. _  
_ _“Sasuke-kun, the centerpieces--”_ _  
_ _“Whatever you want.”_ _  
_Roses then, even if she thought they were overused. The small consolation was that they would at least be red.  
  
The non-specific answers were worse than hearing the ones she didn’t want to hear. It left her fussing and fretting over every little detail.   
  
“I am trying to be supportive--as I understand that's what friends _should_ do.” He continued on, turning another page. “But it’s still a mistake to marry him.” Sai didn’t want her to regret it, didn’t want her to wake up one day wondering where her life had gone so wrong. “Ino won’t say it because she doesn’t want to hurt you. Naruto won’t say it because he thinks that two of his best friends getting married would be the best thing ever.” _If you should need me, all you have to do is call,_ The Sorcerer King implored. “This,” he said, shaking the book. “Is the sort of husband you should have. One who at the very least cares about _you_.” One who would turn the world upside down and inside out for her, which was more than he could say about the man she intended to marry.   
  
Sasuke didn’t even hold the door open for Sakura, Sai knew because Ino had impressed the importance of such an act on him early on.  
  
“Sai…” Sakura begged, feeling a headache come on. She didn’t want to hear the worried thoughts that kept her up at night put into words. ‘Not now…’ Not ever. They hurt. ‘Who are you to hurt me like this?’ She thought, teeth gritting. “If you keep this up you’ll have no cocoa!” And that was one of the few things she could make. “Do you hear me? _None_!” She would drink it all herself and he would only get to look on with desperate longing. ‘And I will laugh as I drink it to the dregs.’ Loudly too.   
  
“You haven’t even signed the papers.” Sai continued on, pale lips set into a frown. He’d come to the last page of the book. _I won’t come again until you call,_ The King said and the girl began to forget. ‘That's hardly a happily ever after.’ He didn’t quite like it, the ending was left far too open.  
  
 _Perhaps someday the girl would remember, or perhaps in a twist of fate the right words would just so happen to fall from her lips._  
  
It was true, a week away and she’d yet to put her name on the documents. “It's normal to have cold feet!” It felt like he was peeling the flesh right off her bones and having a good long look at them, Sakura hated it.   
  
“My feet never changed temperature.” Sometimes, pain was necessary for growth and with that in mind he continued on. “You’ll regret it someday.” Sai insisted. “Packing up your things so that you can move into his place...that's something _he_ should be helping you with.” And planning, at least _pretending_ to be interested in the nuanced differences between eggshell white and ivory like he’d done for Ino. ‘I don’t know much but even I know that's the proper thing to do.’   
  
"He's busy!" Sakura insisted, a suede boot tapping an agitated tune against the floor. If not with his brother and his family, then with Naruto eating ramen, or working long hours that clashed with her own--like he didn’t want to see her. ‘No, no no.’ She wasn’t going to let Sai get in her head, not now. “Gimme that!” Snatching the book away, she held it covetously to her breast. “No cocoa for you!” She sniffled, bottom lip wobbling as tears threatened to fall from her eyes.   
  
Turning, Sakura stomped her way into the open kitchen to put a pan on the stove and then banged her way through the cabinets only to pull out 2 mismatched cups. She’d said she wouldn’t make him any but Sai knew from the start that she would. ”It's a mistake.” He repeated resolutely, flinching when she whipped around to fix him with a glare.   
  
“Keep those thoughts to yourself!” Sakura snapped and smacked the book down on the counter, the sound of it eclipsed by distant thunder and rain. ‘You may have cocoa but you shall have no marshmallows!’ she vowed to herself, pouring milk and setting the heat to low. Looking out the window, watching the droplets turn to rivers she was reminded of a story her mother once told her. _  
_ _  
_ _Sakura, don’t tell your father, otherwise he’ll expect midnight cookies and stories too._ Mebuki had said, petting her hair after a nightmare she could no longer recall. _My father once told me that there are times when the veil between worlds becomes flimsy, when things or sometimes people can fall through to strange places full of strange creatures. There are magic hours and days you see. 12am to 3am, Mid-October to early november..._ It was November and it was cold. ‘And It rained that night too.’ She mused, sighing. _  
_  
“If I had my way, I’d wish him away.” Sai admitted out loud as he turned over the 1990’s Dr. Barbie she’d never opened, box perfectly pristine. In the flashing light it almost seemed as if the doll winked at him. ‘Impossible, it's only plastic.’ he thought, scrutinizing the face.  
  
‘I’m not going to wake up and have regrets.’ Sakura thought, shoulder’s tense like a rubber band about to snap. ‘He’s all wrong.’ So why did the words hurt like they hit center of mass, why hadn’t she signed the papers already? ‘It's all I ever wanted...’ Except it was the wrong flowers and the ceremony wasn’t as she’d envisioned it...and then there was the unsmiling face of Fugaku when he heard the news. She blinked, tears clumping her eyelashes together. ‘Damn Sai for making me feel this way!’ Spitefully, she dropped one, single marshmallow into his cup.   
  
The chill from outside felt like it was creeping over her as she glanced down at the still open pages. Say _your right words_ , it read and for just a moment, it looked as though the ink of them was wet but she thought perhaps that the effect was due to the tears that had landed on the page. ‘That's right.’ Sakura thought, recalling the premise of the book. The girl in the story only had to wish and all her problems would be solved, so long as she said the right words…’Well, I only have the one problem right now.’ She thought stubbornly. It was the person causing her emotional turmoil, or at least the one who’d painted a clear target on his back by opening his mouth. ”I wish the Sorcerer King would take _you_ away…” It seemed as if the whole world sucked in a deep breath and the flames in the burner gave a shudder. “Right _now_.”   
  
Lightning raked the sky and out went the lights, flame and all. Gasping as the power stuttered, Sakura muttered a curse under her breath. “I guess it scared you too.” She laughed, hearing the thump of the box hitting the floor. “So much for cocoa…” Neither of them would be having any now, she bent and rummaged in a bottom cabinet for the emergency supplies she kept on hand and flicked the light to the lantern. “Better.” She popped up, holding it over her head like the personification of Lady Liberty but Sai was nowhere to be found beneath its shining rays. “Huh?”   
  
A distinctly masculine snicker echoed through the dim, whisperings followed in its wake.  
  
 _By slime and snails!_ _  
_ _She finally said the words..._ _  
_ _Precious Thing..._ _  
_ _It's been so long…_ _  
_ _  
_ _S_ akura pressed the lantern close to her chest, as if hoping it might become one with her being. “Who the hell is that?” She scowled. “Sai, if you’re joking around with Naruto, it’s not funny.” She didn’t know that laugh. The cabinets behind her opened and shut, the sound of something scuttling within them had her whirling around. A man with one blue eye peered down at her as he shimmied out of a top cabinet. ‘That's impossible.’ Sakura thought. ‘It's far too small for him...’ And more than that, she’d just been in it a moment ago pulling out cups and there had been no-one within it.  
  
“These doors are so small, un!” He complained, falling to an ungraceful heap on the floor.  
  
“Who the hell are you?!” Sakura shrieked, foot snapping out to kick him in the head.   
  
“Ow! Are you crazy, that hurts!” Deidara would have introduced himself after dodging her stomping foot, but Sakura played dirty. “Oh no, not the hair!” For such a small woman, she had an awfully strong grip.   
  
“I said; who the hell are you and where is Sai?!” Sakura only relented in her screaming and dragging of the stranger by his blonde tresses when the doors to the little terrace attached to her kitchen flew open, raindrops and metallic sparks flying in on the wind. ‘This is the 7th story…’ It didn’t exactly allow for people to just climb up. ‘And even if they could, it was locked.’ She knew that for certain. Her eyes roamed from the top of his head, down to his boots, stuttering somewhere in between. ‘Those pants!’ her lips parted, eyes wide. They were practically unseemly with how tight they were. ‘Avert your eyes!’ Doing so took her longer than it should have.  
  
In the flashing of the storm and the low glow of the lantern she’d dropped to the floor, the second intruder was illuminated but even in the low lighting, Sakura _knew_ his hair would be scarlet in the broad light of day, his eyes like polished amber. ‘How do I know that?’ she wondered.   
  
“Deidara, only an _idiot_ makes an entrance through a cupboard.” He strut across the floor, black cloak dragging behind him. Untouched by the rain, he peered down to where she was crouched on the floor, hands locked in a death grip over the other man’s head. “Idiot.” he said once more, delivering a swift and brutal kick to the man’s leg. “Go back.”   
  
Confused at the turn of events, Sakura blinked a few times. “What kind of thief kicks the burglar he’s working with?” Her lips twisted into a frown.   
  
“Sasori!” Deidara squealed and flopped like a fish within her arms, deeply displeased with getting abused from both ends. ‘That hurt…’  
  
“I’m no thief.” Sasori, as he was named sneered derisively. “I only took what was offered.” It wasn’t who he’d wanted but he could work with it.  
  
“What was offered?” Sakura laughed, nervously. ‘No it can’t be.’ It was after all, it was just a story in a book. Sorcerer Kings simply did not exist. ‘On the other hand I’m having a very hard time logic-ing my way through all this...so...maybe they do exist.’ She’d have to evaluate the broader ramifications of that realization later.  
  
“Dear girl, You said your right words _just_ right.” The man practically purred, eyes feline bright. “And I took what you wished away, _just_ like _you_ asked.”   
  
Sakura threw Deidara down to the floor and stood straighter, hands balled against her hips. “Well, I didn’t mean it and I’d like Sai back if it's all the same to you.” He made it sound like he wanted a prize. ‘Well, he won’t be getting one from me!’ Her foot began to tap against the floor.   
  
Tsking, Sasori shook his head. “Little girl, hasn’t anyone ever told you that you shouldn’t say things that you don’t mean? What’s said is said.” He shrugged as though there was truly nothing he could do. “Words have power you see.”   
  
“Well this is me, using my words to unsay what I said!” Sakura insisted, now toe to toe with him, finding that he smelled like spices and wood. Inevitably her eyes had to take another glance over him. “Ugh, I’m sorry.” She pressed a hand over her face, fighting not to blush. “I am having a very hard time taking you seriously.” Mostly because his breeches distracted her far more than was proper for an engaged woman. ‘It's just very noticeable, that's all!”   
  
Confused, Sasori looked to Deidara, who was curled up on the floor like a pathetic little grub, clutching his knee. “Deidara, was that not a serious kick?”  
  
“Sure was, un.” The man wheezed, rocking back and forth.   
  
“I,” Sasori began, face perfectly blank as he turned his head back to Sakura. “Am a very serious man.” If he could be considered a man at all. He was at the very least, a male of some species.   
  
“Right.” Sakura nodded because it was very noticeable that he was indeed a man. “Of course you are.” She could not help the note of sarcasm that snuck into her tone. “Now, give Sai back and you can seriously get out of my apartment like the very serious man you are and you can take that,” She pointed at Deidara. “Right along with you.”  
  
Frankly as far as Sasori was concerned having to take Deidara back would have ruined the deal if there were any negotiations to be had in the first place. ‘Which there aren’t.’ He had a plan. ”No.” He would not deviate from it.   
  
“ _Obviously_ , there must be a way to get him back since you showed up in the first place.” Sakura scowled. “I mean if you were just going to take him and keep him no matter what why burst through the door?” Unless he really liked gloating…’Which I get the feeling he does.’ But she hoped her assumptions thus far were correct.  
  
“Yes.” Sasori agreed, pleased that she was as clever _now_ as she had been so long ago. ‘Time has done much for her.’ He decided, taking in the changes the years had brought. Baby fat had long been sluiced away from her cheeks. Her lips were full and pink, pressed into a familiar pout. Her hair was longer and cut differently but it framed her heart shaped face not unlike it had when they were younger. ‘The color is the most important part.’ he decided, not disapproving of the added length. “There is.” A gust of hot, dry air blew in through the open terrace and he pressed a guiding hand against her waist.   
  
Shifting, unaware of how easily she fell into step with him, she blinked at the golden sunlight hitting her eyes.‘That's right.’ Sakura recalled upon stepping through the doors and seeing the sight before her. They stood now on the cusp of a dune, looking down at a valley and the shape that sprawled over it. “Sand City.” It sat at the center of a great, winding labyrinth. The wind blew her hair over her face, stray particles of dust stinging her eyes.   
  
“Just so.” Sasori’s lips curled into a faint smirk. “All you have to do is get to the castle at the center of the city and find him.” Or, if she preferred she could simply choose to say in the man’s place. “If you refuse, if you don’t make it in time...he’ll become one of my puppets forever.” In his heart he already knew the choice she would make. Twisting his wrist, he wound the floating clock to the 13th hour.   
  
“It doesn’t look all that far.” Sakura replied, chin raised as she peered at the landscape with defiant, jade eyes.   
  
It felt for a moment as if phantom fingers had caressed her shoulders but when Sakura turned there was no one to be seen. _“Further than you think...”_ Sasori’s voice crooned, echoing in her ear. “ _And time grows ever shorter..._ ” The hands had begun to tick.  
  
Sakura whipped her head back to the maze before her and saw that not too far in the distance, there was a tiny little courtyard before the walls began where someone in black roved around under the rising sun. Sakura squinted her eyes at the figure. ‘It never hurts to ask for directions...’ She thought and went on the move.  
  
Now that she was alone, pieces of the false bravado began to fall. “I’ve really gone and done it this time.” Sakura scowled to herself. “I’m the absolute Queen of sticking my foot In my mouth!” She shouted, throwing her hands over her head as she stomped down the dune--or rather slid down it ungracefully. “How was I supposed to know wishes had consequences? I didn’t even mean it!” She’d only wanted Sai to stop pointing out all the flaws she didn’t want to acknowledge. “I didn’t want him to be…to be...” He wasn’t a kid, so he couldn’t be kidnapped. “Shangsai-ed! Sai-napped!” She kicked up waves of sand with each invented word.   
  
“Well, that's just _fine_!” Sakura was going to solve the stupid labyrinth and get him back. “And then we’re going to have cocoa!...And while I’m at it I’ll figure out why that guy is so familiar too!” She might as well. Smacking a fist into the palm of her hand Sakura steadfastly ignored the sand in her boots and nodded her head resolutely. “Good pep talk.” She told herself.   
  
Sakura Haruno said what she meant and meant what she said...at least 95% of the time.  
  
This was _definitely_ one of those times.   
  


**Author's Note:**

> This story is obviously too long to be finished here but consider this Sasosaku month prompt like a prologue to a future work lmao. 
> 
> Sakura's pulling a Kizashi with the Sai-puns at the end. Shangsai'ed. NEW TAG FOR KIDNAPPED SAI FICS MAKE IT HAPPEN.


End file.
